Destiny Fan Fiction: The Seekers
by Deuxus
Summary: A mini series involving my own original characters in the Destiny universe. This will only be a few chapters long and deal with their personal hardships inside this unique world.
1. Prologue

**_Prelude_**

L: My memory has returned. There is just two of us now, hidden by the shadows. We followed the Glimmer to this world, their programmable matter that they use as currency. It leaks through the seams of reality and bled into our home. And with it their Traveler cried for help. At first we thought it was our God Parents seeking aid, but once we entered the Traveler's realm it was too late to turn back.

There were seven of us back then. Where did they go now, I wonder? I sought out their presence to find the answers to my questioning mind and found only madness. After we pierced through realities we were confronted by a force so dark and familiar we knew that our coming was not coincidence. But it took us first. The power we faced was too great and we were separated, our minds wiped. Or at least mine was. Some were not as fortunate.

We found them in the haze of chaos when the Traveler came to Earth. Their minds were bent and tarnished with the madness of the darkness and all they could do was follow their instincts through their shattered will. The Cult of Ball was formed in place of their purpose and I could not bear to see them like this. So I vanished from the populous and hid away for others to join me. Only one found me, my love, the last of us. Now it is only her and I that share our original goal of seeking out this call for help. We are still convinced it was the Traveler that sent it to us. Our comrade's marks may have faded, but ours remain on our skin. We are still Seekers and we will now have to recruit on our own to build our ranks. Reinforcements will not come from our home, the link has been severed. Our only chance now is to finish what we started. We just have to figure out how to communicate with the traveler now. As I walk amongst the last city of Humans I am reminded of my failure to my lost friends. The Cult is strong and is recruiting as well. An advertisement:

 ** _Before the Traveler, humanity stood upon ignorance of the dark abyss outside of the cradle, Earth. We knew not of the coming miracle that would take shape upon us. However, there were a small few who anticipated the Great Bounce of our lineage. A handful of voyagers from a plane beyond saw what few could. So they broke the seal to our universe in search of a Great Ball to the harbinger of our journey. What they found was not the glorious orb of salvation, but the endless enemy that also pursued it. The five great adventurers who bore the Crest of Seekers stared into the endless dark and peered through to the glory that would be the Great Bounce of Humanity. They lost the clarity their minds once possessed, but their knowledge sprang ever upwards. They saw the Ball of Salvation and rejoiced in its round glory. And sure enough, it came. With renewed faith, and a leap towards the stars, the crest that once found the skin of these voyagers was now replaced with an endless sphere of glory in light of the Traveler. And as the Traveler bestowed its gift, The Cult of Ball forever justified the benevolence of all things round. For it is not how high you climb that matters, but how far you bounce when you fall. Not how well-worn your mind is, but how round it is from the experiences of the great void beyond. As we, the Cult of Ball, and our children of the Glorious Orb continue onward giving praise to all spheres of the universe, our origins shall always guide us, and our God shall protect us from the Darkness._**

 ** _Ball is Hope. Ball is Life. BAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!_**

Will we ever see eye to eye again?

 ** _Zvikara, the Huntress_**

Air rushed through her lungs as the young woman felt life return to her cold body. Warmth began to run through her veins and a healing light enveloped every trace of her, coating her in safety while effectively blinding the recently dead girl's vision. She had been gone a long time. Or at least that's what the strange little floating ball said.

"Hi." He continued with a high pitched, quirky voice.

Zvikara screamed at the Ghost in a panic. The last image before death repeated in her mind as she struggled between sanity and mindless hysteria. The final feeling of death rushed through her over and over never giving her a chance to realize that she is indeed alive again. The sharp blades of her final enemies piercing her and flaring every neuron in her body with intense pain echoed throughout her mind as she begged for it all to end once more. The girl was fixated on death and unable to tread way from these dark corners of her mind. Zvikara huddled on her side, sobbing and wishing for everything to just stop.

The Ghost didn't know what to do. It frantically hovered back in forth trying to think of some way to calm the resurrected human. The Ghost slammed into her head trying to knock some sort of sense to her. Miraculously it worked. She stopped screaming and could only stare at the floating thing in the air with wide surprised eyes as tears trickled down her terrified face. Her breaths were quick and frantic while her eyes continued to dart back and forth scanning her surroundings. She was clearly still in a state of panic. The girl was struggling to recall her memories as she relaxed slightly from her fetal pose. She rubbed the sport where the Ghost struck and flinched in pain. Suddenly, a bare chill enveloped her as she realized how exposed she really was in a cold cave on the winter solstice.

Shying away to the fact that initial resurrection did not include a wardrobe, the ghost quickly fashioned some simple gear for her. "Here." He began hesitantly. "You're going to need these."

She quickly put on her new garb as a hue of red flushed throughout her face. The gear consisted of simple hunter armor and a knife to protect herself. The clothing itself was mostly cloth and leather while the body suit consisted of a surprisingly sophisticated apparatus suited for interstellar travel and survival in zero atmosphere. The knife itself seemed unreasonably sharp and almost made here worry the blade would dull to quickly, but as she peered at the metallic gleam she failed to identify the metal with only her eyes. It was however a decent enough size to be used as a tool, or an effective close ranged weapon.

"Who are you?" The huntress asked, regaining a portion of her composure.

"I'm a ghost." It stated, almost excitedly. "Your Ghost now…" Its voice trailed off as the glowing orb seemed to actually show emotion. Zvika was impressed given Ghosts were basically armor plated mechanical eyes. Its sensor seemed to squint slightly as the Ghost lost a foot of elevation while solemnly looking towards the ground. It seemed a little disappointed, and Zvika was surprised to see it could easily express such emotion for a machine.

The woman took some offence to that. Not having any experience of encountering with the fabled messengers of the Traveler herself but hearing plenty of tales of their chosen warriors, she protested. "Ghosts are for Guardians." She said bluntly. "Why did you resurrect me?"

"You are a Guardian?" It said, unsure of itself now.

"You have no idea who you just awoken do you?" Zvika was becoming annoyed, although in the back of her mind she told herself how grateful she should be towards this thing for resurrecting her.

Determined to stick by his decision, the Ghost adamantly stood its ground. "I… I found someone, I guess that's enough."

Sensing the slight tinge of depression behind it's determined voice, she decided to soften her features. "What should I call you? Ghosts have names don't they?" She asked, trying to express compassion to her savior.

"No, not usually. Well, I do." The ghost seemed to be even more skittish now.

"Well what is it?" She tried asking in the softest tone she could conjure.

"Poco..."

Her voice immediately lost all of its tenderness in a half giggle, half surprised gasp. "Who in their right mind named you that?"

"My previous Guardian."

"Oh." Zvika covered her mouth remembering the complex emotions the mechanical creature was expressing earlier. She wondered, even if they weren't flesh and blood could they feel too? "I'm sorry." She began once again. "That was who you were looking for wasn't it?" This time she was genuinely sincere.

"I thought you were him..." A brief moment past as the awkward silence allowed the two to realize just where they were. It was cold and Zvika was acutely aware of the goose bumps on her limbs as she equipped the last pieces of her armor, leaving her helmet at her side to have a proper conversation with Poco. The wind from just outside the cave blew in a tender blanket of snow as the drifts shifted the Ghost's hovering stance only slightly. Zvika noted the excellent insulation that her garb provided despite the sub-zero temperature.

With an out of place and cheerful smile, Zvika secured her helmet and rose to her feet. "Okay Poco, let's go."

"Huh?" The ghost was lost in thought, lamenting.

"You revived me, so that means that you belong to me now right? Well, let's go." She was trying to call some sort of purpose out of the machine, hoping to conjure a hidden will that this thing seemed to be full of. "Guardians are supposed to be defenders of the light right? Saving the worlds and what not? So let's go save a world."

Not entirely sure where she was due to her foggy memory, the woman exited the cave. The sunlight was harsh as her visor immediately attuned to the appropriate shade to shield her eyes from the harmful rays refracting off the pure white snow just outside the cave. It was noon and not a single cloud was visible letting the two know they had a good window of clear weather for travel.

Zvika made her way up the mountain just past the small cave's entrance. Maybe the vantage would give her a good idea where on Earth she was. And then maybe she could connect with the others that are like her. If any of them were still alive. How long has it been? What planet are they on? The girl was lucky enough to even remember her name in this state.

The ghost followed her eagerly noting every nuance and motion the Huntress took. She seemed strong and devoted to whatever was on her mind at the moment. She also seemed rash and full of reckless abundant. She was probably not going to die he thought. Probably.

The Huntress just sat as she tried to catch her breath. She had been running for days. The Fallen were tracking her every step and she was using all of her energy to just evade them. They were getting closer. Concealed now in a cave on the side of a mountain she devised her next move. She had to act fast before the Fallen would corner her. The mountain range spanned on for a few miles more to the north and south. She came up the west face of the range to escape a raiding party close on her tail, and if she wanted to keep them at bay she would need to scale down the east. The mountain range was almost barren towards the top but it did have a sporadic tree line half way to the base with a stream heading towards the tree line below. Traveling north or south along the apex of the mountain would be preferable, she was better at scaling the terrain than the Fallen, but she was receiving a signal from the east. It was encrypted using a code familiar to her home, which meant that it must have been some one she knew.

Rest here for a few hours then keep moving she decided. Most of her memories returned when she saw the despicable Fallen. She keenly remembers exactly how she died, cornered and stabbed in the back with an Ark blade. This first sight of the pack hunting her brought back a chill in her spine as she could almost feel the intense pain once more. And lastly she remembered why she died. Revenge. The damned creatures trapped her lost love and slaughtered him as she watched. Rage, more than anything, was now driving her. The Huntress covered her tracks masterfully, so she wouldn't have much trouble staying hidden until dawn. She noticed that the Fallen moved slower during the day. Maybe it had to do with their sensors or equipment? There was no way of knowing for sure. She lay down and tried to get some rest.

The woman awoke to the sound of multiple footsteps. They were in a hurry too. Immediately awake she hid just behind the cave's entrance. Once the Fallen were far enough away she bolted into the opposite direction. Quickly, the Huntress ran down the side of the river towards the tree line. It was her best bet at concealing her movement. The rout was tricky, the range was snow caped and the river's edge was not without obstacles. Jagged rocks and sporadic ice plagued her path.

She raced the water making a game of it. Just as she reached the base the Huntress matched the currents speed as she drew closer to the edge, a fatal mistake. The woman slipped on a patch of ice and tumbled down with the river. Her momentum skipped her across the water and onto wooden debris. She landed hard and a stick impaled her left leg. The huntress quickly muffled her scream of pain and rose to limp towards the woods.

Her Ghost appeared from thin air. "I can heal that but you need to be immobile."

"Can't… Have to keep going… I think they heard me."

"Let me put it this way then." Poco realized over the last few days just how stubborn this Huntress was. "You can either keep limping slowly away from our enemy, or I could heal you behind this next tree and you can start racing the water again."

The Huntress shot a glare at her ghost. "Fine." She said sharply as she quickly pulled the stick from her thigh.

Even with her helmet on Poco could still feel the intense glare directed towards him. The Ghost shined a bright light on her and in seconds the wound disappeared. "See, why do you ever doubt me!?"

She didn't like the Ghost being so smug, but he was right. The huntress once again picked up her speed, but this time she broke away from the river.

The woods were becoming thicker now and she was struggling to keep up her speed. She slowed her pace and gingerly trailed the edges of the trees making sure her silhouette would not be too noticeable. Her motion tracker picked up activity just ahead. Something was in the distance, and it was hostile she decided. The forest broke into a meadow and the Huntress stopped in her tracks. Several Dregs blocked her path as they spotted the girl running out of the woods. They were the only ones of the Fallen that had just two arms while the others sported four. But even though they were the runts of the race, they were still vicious. The Huntress only had her knife, but it was enough.

The first Dreg rushed at her from the front, with one swift movement the Huntress leaped into the air and struck her knife in its back with one quick flick of her wrist. She landed just past the corps of the small foe and immediately recovered her dagger. Another rushed her from behind and jumped at her throat. The woman grabbed the Dreg by the back and in one swift motion cut its throat and threw it at another foe approaching to her right rendering it unconscious while the other bled to death on top. Two more came, this time from her sides. One went for her legs while the other jumped for her throat. With one lightning quick snap of her wrist the Huntress landed her knife in the head of the Dreg running for her legs and then immediately followed through with a kick under the second in the middle of its jump sending it skyward. She recovered her knife and sprinted towards the opposite side of the clearing towards the woods once again.

"That was awesome!" The ghost stated excitedly.

Zvika smirked as she sprinted further into the forest, happy that she finally did something to impress the damn thing.

The Huntress heard the Fallen sporadically around her now. The Dreg slowed her down and now the enemy surrounded them. She noticed lights in the distance as well. Are they shooting at her? No, it was large orange splotches in the distance. They were torching the forest!

The fire was fast upon her, burning trees and branches fell blocking her path every which way. It was taking all of her concentration to resist the flames, let alone dodging the burning debris. The fire killed her shield fast as she sprinted as fast as she could. Just when it seemed like the fire would not end, the Huntress burst out into another clearing, this time the clearing was next to the river. Zvika dove into the water to douse her flames and hid from her enemy. Now out of immediate danger, she realized the flashing red warning on her visor indicating an immediate armor breach. As she surfaced, Zvika took another look behind her. Did the Fallen see where she went? There were no signs of them following. She couldn't believe her luck! They must have gotten caught on the other side of the fire.

Poco materialized after the coast was clear. "Whoo! That was exciting." The Ghost was clearly enthralled by the ordeal of events. "Most of the time it's quite but you attract some weird stuff. I mean it's not bad, really it's entertaining. My last Guardian died by falling off a cliff and I couldn't find him so this is a huge improvement."

Zvika, wide eyed, turned toward her Ghost now realizing the true reason he seemed so lost. She decided it was best to keep he thoughts quiet as the Ghost continued to enjoy the situation. The signal was strong here and she was able to decipher the code after her scuttle with the Fallen. It was an encoded message from her brother. He's alive! The Huntress quickly made her way to the rally point after sending an encrypted reply. She couldn't wait to finally be face to face with her own kind again.


	2. Chapter 1: Seekers vs The Taken King

_**Chapter 1: The Seeker's Revelation VS. The Taken King**_

The trio knelt, exhausted from their days-long fight. It took nearly a week to transverse the massive dreadnaught into the throne room of Oryx. Now the three, nearly out of strength and Light, fought to maintain their advantage.

Oryx himself seemed only slightly winded, taking only a moment to regain his power. His fist clenched as the space around him began to bend and vibrate while distorting the backdrop of Saturn's rings until their visage was extinguished by the aura of the Taken King. The air crackled around the group of Guardians, giving warning to a new attack. Lintro, the Titan, lunged at his comrades allowing their escape from what would have been a devastating blow.

Recovering quickly, Malinna the Warlock, looked to Lintro. "What's next?" She asked with an anxious tone.

Lintro analyzed the situation and observed his surroundings. The mix of metal and chitin pillars gave way throughout the room for decent cover and allowed the Guardians to quickly move without too much trouble from Oryx himself. However his legions of Taken forced the group to stick together to prevent any single one of them from being overwhelmed if they weren't careful. The elevated area to the right from where they entered seemed to house a sort of portal while the further end opposite from the entrance gave a breathtaking view of Saturn and his rings. While noting these architectural details and layouts, Lintro devised a plan.

"Zvika," he communicated telepathically using their innate abilities as Neveans, "drop low and move around the back end of the higher part of the right section of the room. Malinna and I will move around towards the front returning fire, forcing Oryx to follow."

The Huntress gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

"Malinna," she glanced back at the Titan with a trusting look, "move with me to draw fire away from Zvika. Once we are towards the back of the room, break away once I throw down heavy damage to force Oryx's might on me, I'll extend my shield while you two hit him with everything you have.

The Warlock readied herself and awaited Lintro's move while Zvika dropped down to power her active camouflage. The two visible Guardians directed their fire towards the Taken King and overtly moved past his front to serpentine between the chitin pillars while carefully avoiding any cannon fodder along the way.

Zvika's rout was more heavily manned, but she passed unseen while stealthily taking down a few marks of her own. The taken were powerless when it came to a trained assassin stalking in the shadows of the void.

Oryx gave a ferocious roar as he perused the Titan and Warlock as they advanced past his reach. Drawing closer, Lintro gave the signal and sent out several blasts from his rocket launcher, making sure to follow through with a few quick bursts from his rifle. The strategic burst fire blended in with the orchestra of clustered explosions that resulted from the canister payload of the Titan's heavy weapon while blurred traces of rounds planted themselves firmly in the Hive God's chest. Oryx retaliated with a massive expenditure of unknown energy from his open palm. His sword hand tightened in anticipation to strike the Titan in his endless fever of revenge against the foes that killed his son. The Taken King rushed in to strike the Guardian with all his might. His flying form proved intimidating, but lacked bite behind its bark against the Titan's stalwart might.

The trap was set. Lintro concentrated his Light, focusing an immense amount of energy around his core and calling upon the very fabric of the universe to tug against the strings of reality. His shield of conjured Void Light burst from his body to absorb all and any damage, creating playful wisps of light as the enemies franticly blasted the aegis to no avail. From behind, Zvika rushed at the demonic King with an Arch infused knife while Malinna charged with a flurry of solar infused grenades as she called forth the song of the sun to re-energize her teammates for a last push on their foe.

The attack would have been successful if not for Oryx's last ditch effort. Right before the two hit, he unleashed a massive blast of energy and warped the party along with himself to a new arena. This final battlefield gave little advantage to the guardians.

The trio regrouped at the center, unsure of how to tackle this new problem. Before anyone could speak, Oryx blasted down from above splitting the group and separating them from each other. As quickly as he came, the Taken King was gone, and a horde of taken spawned all around the three Guardians to complicate their situation. Thankfully, the three grew use to disposing of the King's fodder, and they quickly cleared the arena of any threats so they could redouble. Malinna's song still coursed through their bodies, giving a second wind to the exhausted.

Oryx laughed evilly. "Do you think you can kill me?" He asked rhetorically, taunting the Guardians. "I have seen your past and present. I know your fates. Your futures are set!"

The three stood guard, not flinching once under the Kings heavy words.

Pointing his blade, Oryx took aim at each one of the three to prove his point. "You!" He declared towards Zvikara, "The one who will be tormented by loss of home and love until the darkness completes you." He took aim at Litnro. "Titan! The one who will be lost and forgotten in the dark corners of time." Finally he set his eyes on the Warlock, Malinna. "And you…" He chuckled deeply. "The one who will be left alone in the end, lost without hope, desperate to be whole again."

Oryx rushed towards the group expecting to catch them off guard, however, Lintro and Malinna faced him with equal footing. As for Zvika, the Taken King struck her heart with his dark prophecy. Ever since she was reborn by her Ghost, memories of her past in Neveah, and what could be beyond haunted her. Her nights educed terrors and her day dreams promised a sweet reality beyond this life back to the place she once called home. Back to the place where her lover may still be alive.

Hesitating, the Huntress was knocked back hard and thrown to the force field surrounding the group and knocking the wind out of her. Malinna acted quick and rushed to her friend's aid while the Titan drew fire away from his injured sister.

Lintro was tough enough to keep equal ground with the Hive King, trading blow for blow with a barrage of melees and quick auto fire all while dodging Oryx's massive blade or taking it head on and absorbing the blow.

Malinna, the most medically experienced member of the group, expertly checked the Huntress's vitals for signs of major injury.

"Hey, you okay." She asked quickly. "Can you speak?"

Zvika replied dimly. "Yeah I'm fine."

Malinna brought the huntress back to her feet. "What was that? You're the fastest of us. You should have been able to easily get away."

Zvika hesitated once more with her answer. "I… I got distracted was all. I'm fine, really."

Concerned, and not quite buying her reasoning, Malinna focused her attention back to the matter at hand. "Well keep up, No reason to stop your streak of stealing the last blow from your dear brother right?" And with a quick smirk, the Warlock was off to assist her lover.

Brash and bold, Zvika rushed out in front of her friend with blistering speed to cut ahead. She was right, there was no way she'd let her brother have the satisfaction of scoring the last hit on this mark.

Meanwhile, Lintro furiously hacked away at his opponent's health. Each blow traded was another inch gained by the Titan. Oryx did not have the stamina to keep up with the guardian. Just as Lintro gathered strength for a final blow, he saw nothing but a blur as the Huntress dove in front of her brother, sniper ready. A single round was all it took to stagger the King to his knees.

The Guardians re-grouped center of the arena as the mist dispersed around them to reveal the original location they arrived at. Oryx, using his sword as a crutch, struggled to get back on his feet. Breathing heavily, he reached out to his weapon and called fourth his final strategy. Mystic swirls of what looked like empty light circled around his chest spiraling into a singular point. The Taken King laughed with spite as he took himself into the last safe place he could run too.

The heavy burden around the trio seemed to have lifted with the absence of their foe. And as the Warlock's song wore off of the three, Malinna fell to the floor with a sigh of relief. Lintro gave a solid glare at his sister before his knees began to buckle from exhaustion.

Zvika timidly glanced at her brother. "What?" she asked indifferently. Unbeknown to the other two, she was the only one still standing.

"Seriously?!" Lintro demanded, keeping his hard stare fixated on the Huntress.

Malinna laughed as she fell to her back and enjoyed the customary banter of the two siblings. The delight of victory soon settled over the three's heavy hearts as they picked each other up and called for transmit back to their ship. As their day ended, Oryx's words lingered in the back of their minds.

Zvika returned to her room, and locked herself away while staring into an old photo of her deceased partner. Tears trickled from her cheeks as she lingered on her dark thoughts. What if? She wondered.


	3. Chapter 2: Grievance

Trials:

Lintro set his cup down in the mess hall of the Aegis. Malinna sat adjacent from him while contemplating mission reports and signals analysis they received from their contact with in The Cult of Ball. As her eyes darted from page to page of the Cult's report she elegantly riffled through pages of detailed text resulting in a structured, but albeit insane, organization. Her brow furrowed as she struggled to decode the meaning of the words in front of her. Agitated, she gently stacked the papers back together and set the two piles of separate reports to the side of the table.

Malinna focused her attention on Lintro with tired but kind eyes. "You're going to spill coffee on my work again." She said flatly with a slight smile.

"It was one time!" He retorted. "They turned out okay anyway… Even though the imagery had a bit of a brown hue afterwards." Lintro carefully cradled his mug as he took a long and slow sip taking extra care as the steam from the hot liquid caressed his brow.

Malinna chortled over her lover's past clumsiness, he always listened to her after retorting playfully. Lintro's stubbornness to admitting fault would always be canceled out by her own playful charm diminishing his will to fight. The two complimented each other well in that regard. After all, the two were Bonded together through a cherished tradition practiced back on their home world. The Warlock subconsciously fiddled at the pendent she received in exchange of a gift of her own during their ceremony. Particles under the influence of quantum entanglement resided in their separate pendants as a form of symbolism of their link to each other rather than serving a practical use.

Lintro danced around the sensitive subject on both of their minds, "So she's still in her room then?"

Malinna nodded slightly, her features darkening with a tinge of melancholy. "It's been three days since we killed Oryx. What he said must have shaken her deeply."

"His fortunes were oddly specific." Lintro swirled his bitter drink inside the mug almost spilling it. He then slyly recovered taking note that his Bond wasn't watching that time. "As far as we know, only the Vex have an understanding of future events. Do you think he somehow apprehended that power through his Taken?"

Malinna contemplated the idea briefly while coming to the conclusion that neither of them would truly know. "Not sure, but if Oryx did have that capability he would have been able to counter our advance right?"

Lintro accepted that logic and halted any further entertainment of the idea. "Still," he continued, "Zvika."

Malinna moved to reassure her lover. "She may not say much but she's strong. Your sister will be fine."

The Titan smiled at her kind words, and even though it was a little forced, she did make him feel better. Even if it was just a little.

The door to Zvika's room ascended with a heavy thud. Malinna instantly saw distress in the girl's eyes and noted the small smudges of eyeliner giving away her recently dried tiers. Zvika sulked towards the small table where her comrades conversed. She grabbed her arm in embarrassment, unsure if the two knew exactly how long she had been mourning in her room.

Lintro saw the disposition of his lover change then immediately noted the solemn walk in his sister's steps. The Titan moved towards the pantry to fetch some jerky and apples, Zvika's favorite snacks. Quickly rummaging through the assortment of preserved food, he grabbed a few sticks of meat and hurried towards his sister while taking a bite of jerky, unfortunately he ate the last apple earlier. Lintro handed the majority to his sulking sister and seated her at the island in their mess hall.

Tears gently trickled from the Huntresses cheek as she silently wept in her momentary depression. She softly rested her head on the table as she accepted the comforting arm of her brother.

"This bad again?" Malinna asked softly. The Warlock ran her fingers through Zvika's thick black hair after brushing a lock away from her face.

Light sniffles were the only sounds Zvika made as her features grew more defensive while accepted the comforting embraces of her family. During times like these, she rarely spoke of what was really bothering her. This left Lintro and Malinna to speculate her trauma inaccurately, however the two could take a well placed guess. Zvika was the only one of the original seven that was brought back to life after their arrival to this strange realm, and the news that her lover didn't make it after their original group was attacked by an overwhelming power compounded the poor girl's sense of loss. It left her with night terrors awaking her in a cold sweat and moments throughout the day where she broke down from the weight of her unending psychological stress. If it wasn't for her insistence on joining the two in battle, Malinna would never have let her leave the space station for fear of battle compounding her ordeal.

A small buzzer droned a soft signal as a report from the Black Fox, the three's informant inside the Tower on Earth, emanated on the station's main terminal. Poco, the three's shared Ghost, announced the message's arrival detailing the usual title jargon followed by a vocal overlay in their informant's voice.

/BEGIN_FEED/-/RADIAL_A/UNUSUAL_FALLEN_ACTIVITY/BLCKFX/BEGIN_FEED/

FALLEN PATROL OF UNKNOWN INTENT LOCATED ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF THE HIGHWAY GRAVEYARD JUST OUTSIDE THE COSMODROMEE WALL. ON SCENE COMMUNICATION ANALYSIS HAS DETAILED INTEREST IN SOME SORT OF WEAPON. THIS IS USUALLY NOT WORTH MENTIONING BUT DUE TO THE SIZE OF THIS PATROL IT LOOKS LIKE THEY MAY HAVE UNCOVERED SOMETHING BIG. I'D ADVISE CAUTION BUT I'M SURE JUST THE MERE MENTION OF THE ALIEN BASTARDS WILL FIRE UP THAT SPUNKY HUNTER OF YOURS. GIVE 'EM HELL.

/END_FEED/-/RADIAL_A/UNUSUAL_FALLEN_ACTIVITY/BLCKFX/END_FEED/

The report finished with the Black Fox's standard insignia of a sleek silver outline of a fox on a black background. Malinna glanced at the other two in order to gage their reactions.

Sure enough, the fact that Fallen, an alien race of four armed zealots hell-bent on the Traveler's destruction, was the key enemy for this tip caught Zvika's interest. The Huntress wiped the running mascara from her eyes as she slowly ascended from her seat with newfound resolve. "I'll get my gun." She said with a cold steely glare.

On the outskirts of the wall bordering the Cosmodrome, the trio of Guardians contemplated their mission. They knew the direction the Fallen were heading as well as the general size of the opposing faction, but not where they were heading or why. The cold Russian air didn't pose much of a threat to the Guardians due to their advanced armor. However, it was obvious that a snow storm was just on the horizon. Fresh powdery snow veiled the landscape leaving an easy enough trail to follow. The low sun gave the light snowfall a gleaming sparkle as the individual crystals drifted peacefully towards the earth. This calming, peaceful, atmosphere almost alleviated any worry of danger from the trio's minds as they made their way towards the enemy force.

Lintro continued to assess the situation silently to himself taking every aspect into consideration. Why would they be out in this barren part of Old Russia? What lies ahead of the wasteland? Why such a massive offensive? So many questions that could be answered with better reconnaissance intel. Unfortunately, the tower keeps Hunter records and reports under close lock and key. Cayde-6 has always been paranoid in that aspect. Personally Lintro always thought he enjoyed keeping secrets to himself so he could bring them up whenever he wanted to make a situation a bit more dramatic, "The grand reveal," the Exo would call it.

Malinna walked alongside the Titan as she delved into her own thoughts, mostly about Oryx's words towards the group when they destroyed his physical form. She understood the threatening tone behind the vindictive words the Taken King spat out in his last fight, but did not ascertain to what the meaning behind them was. Generally, in all of the reports received by The Black Fox beforehand, his callous demeanor towards enemies seemed vilipend at best. But to her own group he was spiteful and vindictive. He truly hated our very existence she decided. "Could this be because we killed his son?" The Warlock thought. Yes, she decided. It made sense, but also humanized the Taken King a bit. In that moment of reflection, Malinna felt empathy for the father morning his lost son. Instead of the natural, bitter, antagonistic stance towards her enemy, she wanted to somehow apologize for his turmoil. She, like her comrades, wanted peace.

"Lintro?" Malinna interjected as the Titan struggled away from his train of thought to focus on the Warlock.

"Do you think Rasputin found a way to activate another derelict Warmind site?" He asked as his thoughts raced.

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Malinna decided to let her own thoughts go. "How would you feel if we lost a child of our own?" Is what she wanted to say, but instead she focused on the more apparent matter at hand. "It's possible," she began, "Rasputin has surprised us in more than one way before. Like when Zvika first activated the Cosmodrome Array allowing it to re-connect to the inner system." The Warlock imagined the chaos that unfolded at than exact moment. The surprise on their enemies faces as the Warsats activated and began attacking with prejudice when Rasputin gained whatever ground he could against the Darkness. It made her chuckle slightly and subsequently lifted a little bit of the dread she was feeling earlier.

"Zvika?" Lintro turned back to his sister and her Ghost whom were more than a few paces behind the two. "What do you think?"

The Ghost's voice appeared over the coms catching the Titan off guard. "I don't think that's quite right. Even though the enemy activity is similar to when we activated the other sites for the Warmind, this group is just too big. It's like they're staging for something."

"And, Zvika?" Lintro asked. The Titan observed a short exchange between the two before the Ghost spoke again.

"She agrees." Poco stated unconvincingly.

Lintro, now worried for his sister once again, fell back into the depths of his mind to find some sort of solution. It might be a weapon, he thought. A big weapon. But nothing would come from just speculation. The Titan would have to see with his own eyes exactly what it was the Fallen were pursuing.

The Fallen Capitan organized his platoon as he monitored the situation. Three guardians were in close pursuit to the main army making its way through old Russia. His job was simple, alert the rear battalion while stalking whatever threat followed in close proximity. The Capitan ordered his Dregs, the lowly two armed pawns of the Fallen hierarchy, to stay hidden and close by as he would make his way to draw their attention forward. Meanwhile, his Vandal snipers would take out the vile followers of the Traveler while they were distracted.

Satisfied with the order of events that would take place, the small platoon set their plan in motion and silently moved through the cold storm that was fast approaching.

Zvika, once again towards the rear of the group, swiftly approached her brother and pat him on the shoulder.

Sensing her urgency, the Titan listened closely to the Huntress's words.

"Sniper glints," she began with a quick and rushed tone, "three of them."

Lintro nodded slightly to acknowledge and await her plan. At this point Zvika would have the best strategy in mind since she had the best situational awareness of the group.

The skittish girl continued her thoughts. "You and Malinna take cover in behind the outcropping of rocks up ahead. As soon as a sniper shot lands far ahead of where you two are, switch sides and prepare from an assault from the front." The Huntress turned toward the Warlock to reassure her. "Don't worry, you two will be fine at least. I'll be in the shadows."

In an instant the Huntress disappeared as her active camouflage concealed her movements. Almost immediately afterwards, sniper fire rained upon the two Guardians as they raced for cover. Lintro and Malinna successfully braced themselves behind the rocks as they awaited Zvika's signal. The girl's last statement didn't assure them too well.

The Vandals continued their assault on the two Guardians making sure to not let up a single second between the three of them. Their orders were to not let up fire no matter what, so the disappearance of the Huntress did not concern them. This was their fatal flaw. As the trio of sharpshooters continued their onslaught a whisper of footsteps fell behind them quietly and unseen, like death. The last thing the three Fallen shooters felt was a sharp blade as the girl's knife severed each of their spines in less than a second.

Zvika wasted no time to take out a rifle of her own and shoot straight down the valley that her comrades were taking cover in. The storm was now approaching and her friends had not yet noticed the Captain's group about to ambush them from behind.

Lintro and Malinna peeked from their cover as they noticed a sudden stop in fire on their position. Then a single shot, clearly different from the earlier suppressing fire, rang out with the sound of distant thunder. As the bullet raced past the two, the Guardians looked towards their front just in time to see the explosive round plant itself right between the eyes of a Fallen Dreg as it attempted a silent approach under the cover of the now heavy snowfall. The two heeded their sibling's advice and jumped to the other side of the rocks just in time to avoid additional fire originating from a Fallen Capitan and the remainder of his four Dregs. With practiced precision, the Warlock opened fire making every shot count with her pulse rifle as the Titan provided suppressive fire in the form of a hail of assault rifle rounds. Thanks to the Huntress's keen senses and quick thinking. The trio of Guardians now held the advantage.

As Lintro added grenades to the mix in order to scatter the enemy, Zvika continued to land precise shots on the remaining Dregs as Malinna focused on the Capitan's shields. Once the hue of light blue flared and faded, the Titan rushed in for the killing blow.

He charged at the remaining Fallen with heavy strides as the Capitan braced itself and readied one of his four fists for a counter against the brave Guardian, but Lintro remained vigilant upon his approach. The Titan jerked to the left away from the clenched fist and then swiftly rolled to the right as the Capitan's punch came too high to hit the Guardian and fell into the ground. Lintro readied his sword to strike a final blow, but as his arm drew back the Fallen's head exploded as a high powered rifle round ended the thing's life.

Lintro looked towards the general direction of the sniper fire with his hands extended. "Oh come on!" He yelled angrily at his annoying sister's never ending quest to steal his moments of glory.

Just as the Titan was about to walk towards Malinna, more fire rained past him as he flinched from the sudden intensity of combat. He looked back down the valley to see an entire army of Fallen charging their position. The enemy knew where they were now.

"Malinna!" Lintro shouted in earnest. "Send a distress signal, we'll need backup."

"No problem, cover me for a few moments." The Warlock pulled out a data pad and drew up a lightning quick response destined for The Black Fox.

Zvika exhausted her sniper's ammo as she took out as many approaching enemies as she could. She grabbed a Line Riffle from one of the dead Vandals only to find the batteries drained. Cursing herself, she dashed down her position perched upon a hill to join her friends.

The light snow that gave an enjoyable atmosphere to their little trek has intensified into an all-out blizzard. This was fortunate for the Huntress but played havoc on her friend's ability to affectively fight. The girl charged down the valley while activating her powerful Ark infused blade. They were at least lucky that the only flanking team consisted of the Fallen she had recently killed. Within a blink of an eye, she was past her comrades and engaging the front ranks of the Fallen army. Zvika dashed and darted between a multitude of foes as she cut them down one by one. Several dozen of the aliens fell to her precision as her speed overpowered the enemies' attempts at countering the nimble Huntress. The raging blizzard concealed her quick movements as she skillfully hid her steps while dancing under the howling wind.

Quickly rallying behind his sister, Lintro focused his power down the main grouping of enemies to his left. Grenades of pure Void hurled towards the Elinski troops as the purple tailed weapons landed firmly upon the face of an unlucky Vandal. The resulting clusters of explosions caused chaos as a handful of Fallen dissipated into nothingness then exploded into a purple bloom. The rest panicked as they regrouped behind cover only to be cut down by Zvika's hungering blade.

Fear pulsed through the Huntresses body fueling the unrelenting adrenalin pushing her forward. And as her courage grew, an even stronger emotion emerged. The vengeful spite she had for this race went beyond her own death. She knew these things were responsible for her lover's death. Her mind reenacted that horrible encounter every night. And every night her fear and vengeance grew until it was a sweltering hate that embroiled her rage.

Malinna quickly looked upon another flank of advancing Fallen as her friends fought valiantly against their foes. A regiment diverted a portion of its troops around the valley to gain a vantage point for several sniper positions while the rest of the group prepared to flank the Guardians. They were about to be hopelessly surrounded.

"Lintro, Zvika," she called over the coms. "We have to regroup. We need to hold out until help arrives."

Lintro took note of his Bond's urgent voice and signaled for Zvika to form up on him as he rushed towards their initial cover to pull up a Void bubble. Lintro had little trouble making his way past the sparsely group enemies in his way, but as he reached the rally point he noticed something was amiss. Zvika wasn't retreating, she was advancing. Slightly angered, Lintro readied himself to rush toward his sister, but then the situation grew darker still. Portals of ethereal black began to swirl and release pillars of darkness all around the area. The Taken were here. Both Lintro and Malinna, who was now with Lintro, looked up towards the sky in awe as the Fallen around them began to become surrounded by the new threat.

Malinna looked towards the Titan with uncertainty. "I thought we got rid of him?" She asked, half expecting some sort of explanation.

Lintro didn't take his eyes off the situation. He didn't know what to do. Their transmat to the Aegis was being jammed and they had no clue if their distress signal was able to make it in time. Their only hope was to hold out as long as they could he decided. "Zvika is still out there." The annoyed brother began to contact her sister only to be faced with silence. Thinking quickly, he tried her Ghost. "Poco, get Zvika back here, we need to hold up."

"I'm still up on the sniper hill. She told me to assess the enemies advance."

"And?" Lintro stated in absurdity.

"They're advancing."

Fearing his sister's safety, and now absolutely furious from the Ghost's incompetence, the Titan turned towards Malinna. "She left her Ghost behind, I'm going after her."

"Wait." The Warlock grasped the Titan's arm. She took advantage of the Fallen now focusing on the Taken army to opened up the channel half expecting to scold a prideful girl who wanted nothing but to fill her desire of competition, but once the coms were open to the Huntress all Malinna heard was vengeful screaming. Shaken by her friend's ferocity, the Warlock was almost too afraid to speak, but she managed to gather her courage quickly. "Zvika, you have to make it back to us." Silence was the only reply Malinna received over the common static and muffled wind in the background. "We need to regroup so we ca-"

"No." The girl interrupted "I'm not going back today."

Lintro scolded his sister. "Zvikara! If we don't regroup now we are all going to die!"

"The only one dying today is me!" Zvika replied with a harsh and urged defiance. "I have to die. I am dead. No more hope."

The two Guardians were speechless, they've never heard her speech so fragmented and incoherent. Before they could even reply to convince the Huntress otherwise, she continued her painful plea.

"Why can't you see what has happened to me? Open your eyes!" Tears fell from the girl's eyes like cascading waterfalls as she tore her way through as many Fallen as she could "I died! I was dead and now I can't think of anything else. I have to die, I must. I have to go back. I BELONG there." Zvika's voice trailed. A hushed moment brought forth a few tears from Malinna as a couple of soft sobs transmitted from Zvika's end. "I have to go home."

Malinna retorted with a desperately. "You know that's not how it works. We have to go home together. We can't do it without you!

"There's no more hope. No more dreams. I never really came back. You understand right? You have to understand. I…" The Huntress's coms cut short before she could finish her thought.

Lintro faced Malinna. Even though their helmets concealed their faces, both of them knew the look of sheer terror plastered upon their visage of the thought of losing their closest friend.

A glint from a sniper's scope caught the Titan's eye and he instinctively responded with a powerful ward of Void light to shield the two. Determined, Lintro began to walk outside of his own protective field to find his lost sister.

Malinna immediately grabbed his arm once again and pulled him into the safety of their armored sanctuary. "No!" She cried. "I can't lose you too." Her eyes were wide with shock as she fought to hold back her streaming tears. She was almost in a state of panic because of Zvika's words, but the Warlock knew that they needed to focus on the matter at hand.

Fighting desperately against his emotions, he decided Malinna was right. He looked at his lover and smiled. "You're distress signal went through, I'm sure of it." The Titan decided he needed to be strong for both his teammates, but his words of comfort held little weight given the situation.

The Taken were closing in rapidly. Just as the two readied themselves for the fight of their lives, another blast of dark energy enveloped the Fallen troops directly ahead of the two as Taken poured out and enveloped the remaining Fallen destroying them completely. Out from the subsequent veil, a visage of Oryx stepped forth. In his hand he held a helmetless Zvikara by the neck.

Lintro halted his movements, afraid that any provocation would kill his sister. The Echo of Oryx basically had the girl at gun point, and the Titan was not convinced it was open to negotiations. Lintro carefully reached for his side arm as he formulated a plan. But as he was about to pounce, his sister spoke.

"It's okay." She said softly. "I'll be fine. I'm going home." She repeated herself as her voice fell into a hushed whisper.

The Echo grinned evilly as it tightened its hold, chocking the Huntress and making her voice strained.

"I'll find a path for you to follow too." She continued. "So we can all leave together. We can, w-we." The girl began to lose consciousness as she struggled for air. "Wait!" The Huntress felt an overpowering burden upon her as the Echo started to weave his vial magic. The huntress franticly clawed at her throat begging for release as she screamed and flailed in horror in realization of what was happening. A portal to the taken realm attached to her mind, body, and soon after her soul. It tugged on her, called her into its prison, and with a final blood curdling scream she was gone.

With tears streaming down her eyes and a look of pure horror, Malinna fought to hold back Lintro as he tried with all his might to break free and charge into the fray of enemies.

Lintro nearly threw the Warlock as he fought to keep some sort of sane thought within his mind. All he could think was, "She's gone, she's gone, she's gone." Finally, as the shimmer of their Void encased sanctuary began to fade, the distraught Titan fell to his knees. Malinna fell onto his back as she began to sob, her best friend was gone. Then, the bubble burst.

The Black Fox monitored the offensive and defensive suites inside the cramped strike ship that he and the Cult of Ball used to make their way towards the Seeker's distress signal. Satisfied that there were no threats or jamming indications, he made his way to the helm to assess the situation.

At the cockpit, Quiblar and the Capitan, two high ranking Cult members, silently graced the controls as their ship approached the signal's source.

"Ah, the Black one has returned." The Capitan spoke. "Praise be to the spherical majesty of our holy roundness!"

Quiblar echoed the praise. "Praise be!"

The Guardian merely glared at the two zealots, annoyed by their very presence, but they were also the only ones who would help him. The Vanguard gives him nothing in the way of supplies and all three of the major factions refuse to fund a Guardian who lost his Ghost. Despite the disadvantages he loved a challenge, which is why he chose to help the Seeker's Revelation. It provided him a long term goal to keep him entertained.

After the slight annoyance, Fox focused on the main cabin's sensors and the area outside the glass. There, the three saw just how dire the situation was. Lintro and Malinna were surrounded as they fought for their lives against the endless army of taken.

"Quickly," the Ghostless Guardian began, "forward the ship over the main group and then land once I clear the area.

"Praise be the spherical munitions of divine orbitals!" Shouted the Cult members in unison.

Quiblar continued the prayer, "Oh gracious Ball, rolling as you should, deliver our loving friend to his near death and smite the shapeless ones."

The Fox couldn't take it anymore, "Damn it! Just do your job!" The he practically entered the coordinates for the munitions himself before rushing for the airlock. The plan was simple; blow everything to hell. The Fox braced himself as he felt the hatch doors to the munitions open below and his air lock release. The floor opened and he commenced his death-from-above strategy. The erratic Guardian tore through the wind causing a high pitched whistle as he shot down towards the massed force like a cruise missile followed by several tons of excessively charged Ark bombs. The air crackled like thunder as the bombastic cluster tumbled below. Lightning darted erratically through the snowy sky as the hell storm tumbled closer to it's mark. The Black Fox made the first impact, followed by the several dozen weapons. His impact caused a crater twice his height deep as the bombs detonated all around him. The fallout from his strike covered the Guardian, sheltering him and shielding him from the electricity spinning an enormous web of death as each enemy caught in the cross fire turned into a conducting rod.

Malinna and Lintro ducked into cover just in time to shield themselves from the blast that raged before them. However, there was no need. Their ally made sure to plant the explosives perfectly ahead of them so the Titan and Warlock could have a grand view of the carnage without being in any danger.

Once the rest of the shattered forces retreated, the Cult landed their ship behind the broken Guardians and stepped from their ship. The Capitan was first, "Oh heavenly orb in our limitless skies, for when the dark has consumed all but naught…"

"The Ball was there." Quiblar joined in the choir.

"For when light seemed all but impossible to attain…"

"The Ball was there."

"For when they, those who could not follow for fear of uncertainty and the endless curves that grace your face!"

"The Ball was there!"

"For when the everlasting abyss may take us and never let us go in a memorable embrace sheltered by the glowing bits of fiery glory that also adorn your shape in all of its perfection and in our doubt we should forget what shape they take in certainty…"

"The Ball was there!"

The two began chanting in unison. "BALL IS HOPE! BALL IS LIFE! BAAAAAALLLLL!"

The Titan who dealt the lethal blow plowed his fist up from his self-caused rubble and climbed out of the debris. He dusted off his shiny armor and made his way towards the two Guardians who were now collapsed onto the ground. "I told you two not to speak at all when we were near them!" He scolded the Cult members. Then, he focused his attention on the fallen Guardians "What the hell?" He began as he approached what he assumed were two exhausted allies. "How did you even get into this mess, and where's…"

"I can't find her!" Poco, Zvika's Ghost, franticly flew past the group in hopes to find his Guardian. "She was right here, she told me to wait. I don't know what happened." His frantic motions ended with him zooming off into the distance. "I think I last saw her over here!" He shouted.

The Black Fox stopped himself as he now realized the situation. The sobbing woman and the man with the hunched shoulders told him all he needed to know. With a gaped mouth, he realized exactly what happened. The lone Titan picked up his allies and helped them over to the ship, hoping that the two Cult members would actually keep their mouths' shut for once in the presence of additional people. These two were going to need some peace and quiet for once he decided.


End file.
